Friday, February 14, 2014

My Valentine's Dinner: M&S Dine In For Two

Yeah, I had a little tantrum when I found out that my favorite steakhouse in London, Meat People, had run out of tables for Valentine's Day. So what if I hadn't booked three weeks in advance? I needed that steak!

But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise really, since I'm still kind of feeling blah after my operation and John has, once again, been traveling non-stop this week for work (plus, the weather is horrible). The more I thought about it, the more I was looking forward to going home, slipping on a slinky dress getting into my fleece robe, and sharing a bottle of wine with my favorite person, while watching the Winter Olympics highlights on our projector before falling asleep on the floor (and also giving John his Valentine's gift of anti-age eye cream, which I thought was an incredibly romantic gesture at the time of purchase).

But I did better than that. Yes, during my week of recovery, I was bombarded by ads on TV advertising all the Dine in for Two deals at grocery stores like Tesco, Waitrose, and M&S. After watching these commercials closely, I decided that the M&S option looked the best, so I headed out there at lunchtime and BAM! Like a sniper taking his shot, I did a rapid-fire grab of random items and ended up with the above - which, in case you can't tell, consists of:

Okay, so, side note: you know how I always complain about British grocery stores (especially in big cities like Londonand their lack of variety, etc. etc. etc.? Well, I have forgotten to name one crucial and redeeming feature of places like Tesco, M&S, and Waitrose, which is their frequent Dine in for Two meal deals. These aren't always on offer, but when they are, usually consist of a main course, side dish, dessert, and a bottle of good quality wine for £10.

The first time my mom accompanied me on a shopping trip to purchase such a deal for dinner, she was gobsmacked. "Whaaaaaat?" she cried, as I began loading up my basket with items. "You get all that? AND dessert?" I carefully selected a rather large box of profiteroles, balancing precariously on top of each other in a beautiful pyramid. "Aaaaand a bottle of wine? For £10?" she exclaimed in wonder.

"Wow. That sure beats the US. We don't have anything like that over there." And that, my friends, is one of the few times my mom has praised anything in this oh-adopted-country-of-mine. Usually it's: "These sponges are weird" or "Ugh, what a pain it is to air-dry clothes!" or "I hate all this walking in the rain!" or ... well, you get the idea. Although, I did excitedly show my mom the picture above this morning and she was like, "But you have to cook it though." I was like, "Yes, but look at how amazing this is! It's so pretty! And all that food for £20!" (pause) "But you have to cook it though."